August 9, 2012

By Pamela Fayerman
Downhill cycling, in which riders navigate down seriously rough, steep slopes, is a risky pursuit at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.
That’s evidenced by a new study which shows 2,000 injuries to 900 riders in a single, five month cycling season in 2009. It’s perplexing that, as you’ll read later in this post, mountain owners/operators are silent on the medical research.
Just over 12 per cent of injuries in the study ... Read More …

In my last post, I looked at why Canada hasn’t won more gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics. I pointed out that with only one gold out of 16 medals, our share of golds — 6% — is lower than almost any other country and far lower than the one-third you’d expect given the overall average.
Now, 2012 could just be a fluke — random chance means that, every now and then, some ... Read More …

When Education Minister George Abbott decided to make K-3 reading a priority for the next school year, he did something no other education minister has done — he sent an email directly to every public-school teacher in the province.
He didn’t deliver the information to the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) to be distributed to its members, and he didn’t send it to the media. (Still hasn’t.)
Such direct communication was not possible before because the ... Read More …

by Michael Hobson
The Blue Jays needed to add at least one major piece at the trade deadline to keep the club in contention this year but the Jays were only able to add minor pieces to the bullpen. They failed to add a top of the rotation starter or an impact bat and as such have made it known that whatever plan was in place for this year has been scrapped and the next ... Read More …

As a sponsor of the second annual National Tree Day, Nissan Canada is providing a 2012 Nissan Leaf SL as the grand prize for a new Tree Canada contest which asks Canadians to “Get Treemotional.”
In celebration of National Tree Day, starting today, Canadians can submit an image of their favourite tree at nationaltreeday.ca, and explain what makes that tree special in 50 words or less. The grand prize winner will be selected at random ... Read More …

British Columbia not only has a new superintendent of reading, it also has a new superintendent of aboriginal achievement. Veteran educator DeDe DeRose was appointed in June and began work in that position Aug. 1.
In a release, the First Nations Education Steering Committee welcomed the announcement that aboriginal students will be supported henceforth by a dedicated aboriginal leader.
DeRose, an educator and education advocate for 30 years, will work with FNESC and other education ... Read More …

HENRY BURRIS
CFL This Week
By MIKE BEAMISH
Vancouver Sun
TODAY
Calgary at Hamilton, 4 p.m., TSN — The Stampeders scored only eight points and not a single touchdown in their last start — July 28 against the Lions. Before that, however, they’d managed totals of 41, 32, 36 and 38 — and the Stamps should be around that average — 36 points — again. Hamilton’s defence is last in the CFL (an average ... Read More …

The B.C. Advanced Education Ministry has hired a consulting firm to work with public post-secondary institutions during the next few months to find millions of dollars in administrative savings.
It’s challenging the post-secondary sector to reduce administrative costs and other expenditures while not hurting academic programs, according to a document dated July 16 and posted this week on the CUPE-BC website.
The Administrative Service Delivery Transformation Project began June 25 and is expected to ... Read More …